The use of disposable diapers for children and incontinent persons is now well established in the market. To date, however, there has been little success in popularizing a low-cost disposable panty for adults.
The disposable panty market is potentially substantial. It would appeal to persons who are away from home, travelling, and to persons who are fastidious about having clean underwear. But to establish such a market, a panty would have to be produced at very low cost.
A difficulty in endeavoring to serve a mass market for this line of product is the variability of size requirements of individuals. In order to fit persons of varying waist measurements, while still keeping cost down, it would be desirable to have a panty that is adaptable to fit various sizes of persons. This feature should be available again without increasing substantially the cost of the product.
While the introduction of a low-cost disposable panty could serve a very broad market, there is also a market for a combination panty and tampon. Such a product would meet the needs of women as they experience their monthly menstrual cycle.
A panty adapted for this market should combine absorbency potential with non-obtrusiveness. This requires that compromises be made in the quantity of absorbent material incorporated to function as a tampon. It further requires that care be taken in selecting the shape of the tampon in relation to the portion of the body over which it is intended to lie.
In the prior art, adhesive tapes have been used to gather the waist-line of panties to provide size control. An example in this category is U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,347 to Connally. The use of such tape is, however, limited by the strength of the adhesive. Further, the gathered portion of an adhesively held waistband will be ruffled in a disorganized manner.
In the area of absorbent pads, patents such as U.S. 4,229,835 to Shaw and 4,642,110 to Dudek depict examples of pads incorporated into an undergarment or diaper. Shaw depicts an absorbent pad that is limited in coverage to the crotch. Dudek shows an absorbent pad that extends from the front to the rear waistband region, and incorporates a series of "V"-shaped notches to aid in gathering of the pad around the waist. U.S. Pat. No. 2,749,556 to Lampkowitz shows an adjustable waistband in which folded pleats are provided to provide material for the waistband to expand. A similar feature appears in Zins, U.S. Pat. No. 3,097,365.